LONDON (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Tuesday, reversing the previous session's gains, as the dollar rose against a basket of currencies and attention returned to the uncertain outlook for the global economy, prompting investors to stay cautious and reduce their exposure to assets perceived as risky. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange fell to $8,815 a tonne by 0917 GMT from a close of $8,909 on Monday. The metal used in power and construction eased on the back of a firmer dollar after worse-than-expected German growth data raised fears of a slowdown and added pressure to policymakers to come up with a solution to the euro zone's debt crisis. Reflecting the cautious stance in markets, European stocks fell sharply, with investors awaiting a Franco-German summit later in the day at which President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet to discuss potential solutions to the region's debt crisis. "The weak German GDP figures, weak European equity markets and the ongoing euro zone debt problems are all weighing on sentiment," said Leon Westgate, analyst at Standard Bank. "The focus has shifted back to the fundamentals in terms of the health of the global economy. There is a fear of a double dip recession in Europe and China is still wrestling with inflation. It's going to be a long process before confidence really returns to the market." Last week, copper eased on fears about the global economy and growth prospects in China, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of total copper demand estimated at around 19 million tonnes this year. But with three-month LME copper still trading at a discount to the November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, there remains an incentive for the Chinese to import although price-sensitive buyers will likely wait for costs to stabilise.

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